Summary
The Batman’shighly anticipated sequel film is set to start filming pretty soon, but reports indicate that there’s been a bottleneck to production kicking off and a recent statement from one of DC Studios’ two bosses doesn’t inspire much confidence on that front.
The Batmanhad the odds stacked against it, coming out long after the industry had seemingly reached peak superhero, with the DCEU at the tail end of its collapse and the rival Marvel Cinematic Universe starting to suffer the effects of fan fatigue as strongly as ever. Additionally, the film was unattached to any other project and featured what many considered a controversial casting choice for the lead role, making it even more keenly subject to fan skepticism. Despite these odds, the film was somewhat unexpectedly a massive success, with leading manRobert Pattinson’s career being hilariously affected by his stellar performance as Batman. Director Matt Reeves would reveal that it was the first of a planned trilogy with spinoffs, and confirm a sequel film was already in the works, albeit with a perplexingly far-off release window.
Despite currently being set for a 2027 release,The Batman Part II’sfilming start date is closer than fans may think, as the project is currently eyeing a late 2025 start date on principal photography. While this sounds great and well ahead of schedule, there’s one thing that’s been holding the production back, and DC Studios boss Peter Safran confirms that there’s been no solid change in that department.Comicbookreports that Safran was on hand to address progress on the project at a recent DC Studios press event from Warner Bros. Discovery, and his comments aren’t particularly enthusing. “James and I, we love Matt Reeves’ vision for The Batman Part II. And we’re looking forward to this film as much as you are,” Safran said. “He hasn’t yet turned in a script. But what we’ve read so far is very encouraging.” The presser also revealed tons of other important DCU information, including confirmation that Reeves’ Batman epic crime saga would remain a standalone Elseworlds thing and that Pattinson wouldn’t be the DCU’s Batman.
While this isn’t exactly good news, there’s more than enough time left before the film’s release date for Reeves to meet up, and the long writing process certainly isn’t happening because he’s not working. One pretty pertinent reason for delays could be the standout success ofThe Penguin,a show that shocked fans and critics alike with its sheer quality and depth. With the two central characters from that series at his disposal and Colin Ferrell’s Oz Cobb already confirmed to feature prominently in the upcoming sequel, it wouldn’t be out of place for Reeves to rework parts of the script to reflect the character development the show facilitated. The showing might have even earned the villain a bigger role in the franchise when all is said and done, and that would be a win for the fans. On a less optimistic note, there’s also been some indication thatReeves’ delays onThe Batman Part IIscript could be (in part) due to personal issues, so fans might have to be sensitive about how difficult that potential roadblock could be to overcome and be patient with the filmmaker. If nothing else, Reeves has earned the privilege of taking his time with the follow-up to his runaway hit, and no one wins if he turns in a rushed script or is off his game due to not addressing these potential issues in his personal life.
While the news is certainly not the sort that fans might have hoped for this close to the planned start of filming,the long overall wait onThe Batman Part IImight be beneficialwhen considering the bigger picture. There are prominent rumors that suggest Reeves’ plan includes writing and working on bothThe Batman Part IIand the planned third film in the trilogy in short order, allowing the two films to be released much closer together than would otherwise be possible while giving Safran and Gunn’sBatman: The Brave And The Bolda wide berth at theaters to avoid potential overlap. 2027 is pretty far away, but if the rest of the trilogy can live up to the standard of the first film andThe Penguin,it will be worth the wait.
The Batmanis available to stream on Max, withThe Batman Part IIcurrently set for theatrical release on July 24, 2025.
The Batman Part II
The Batman Part II is the sequel to Matt Reeve’s The Batman, released in 2022, and will continue where the original film left off. The film shares a universe with the HBO Max original Penguin series and sees the return of the Riddler and a different incarnation of the Joker.
